The present invention relates to contact blades for switch assemblies of the type where the contact blade is combined with an electrical connector terminal and is mounted on the switch casing or housing with portions of the terminal extending through the housing and adapted for external electrical connection thereto. Combination terminal and switch blades are typically employed in programmer switch assemblies of the type having a rotary cam acting against one of the switch blades for effecting movement of the blade and opening and closing a set of electrical contacts for making and breaking an electrical circuit. This type of terminal/blade contact arrangement is particularly suitable for the manufacture of programmer timers where the cam is advanced by a timing mechanism such as a motor driven ratchet and pawl type advance.
Programmer timers of this description are often employed in the control of program sequences for appliances.
Heretofore, cam operated switches and particularly switches of the type employed for appliance programmers have utilized separate pieces riveted together to form a flat switch blade capable of resilient deflection or movement by a cam with a thickened base portion for forming the terminal which is to be inserted through an aperture in the switch housing in a manner retaining the switch blade in a fixed location and position on the housing. The connecting terminal portion of the assembly extends through the housing for external attachment. Such two-piece blade and terminal constructions have proven to be quite costly in high volume mass production and have required costly tooling, fixtures and machinery to automatically position and rivet the terminal portion to the blade. Accordingly, it has been desired to provide an improved reduced cost terminal/blade contact arrangement for assembly onto a switch housing.
Heretofore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the aforesaid type insertable terminal/blade contact assemblies as indicated generally at 1 in FIGS. 5 and 6 were fabricated by forming a separate contact blade 2 and terminal member 4 from flat stock of differing thickness, with the terminal 4 generally formed of material of several multiples of the thickness of the blade 2. The terminal 4 was typically attached to the blade 2 in a generally right angle arrangement by a pair of fasteners such as rivets 6. A switching contact 8 was attached also typically by riveting to the contact blade 2. Typically, the terminal member 4 was provided with stamped tabs or barbs denoted by reference numerals 7, 9 to prevent removal of the terminal upon insertion into the switch housing.